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A Companion to Here's to You, Zeb Pike

Sixteen-year-old Emmitt LaPoint has secretly been writing letters to his hockey idol, John LeClair, for years. So it’s probably only fitting that Emmitt’s small Vermont town seems desperate to make him the next LeClair. After all, Emmitt is about to lead his high school hockey team to the state championship, he has a near-perfect GPA, and he’s liked by almost everyone.

But even golden boys have problems, and Emmitt has more than his share. His father’s back in town to breathe down his neck. He’s happily dating his coach’s nephew, Dusty, but almost nobody knows he’s gay—and that secret is getting harder and harder to keep.

When Emmitt discovers Dusty is keeping secrets of his own, he’s forced to decide exactly what kind of golden boy he wants to be.

Hey, an ice hockey romance! Of course, I had to read it!!!

This is a companion to Here’s to You, Zeb Pike, which I haven’t read. To some extent, it might be better to read that first, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Parkhurst introduces the main characters well enough to enjoy this book on its own. Really well, in fact, as I could connect with Emmitt within a couple of chapters! He seemed genuine in his drive to succeed, his high achievements coupled with a lot of humility. I liked how each chapter started with a letter from Emmitt to his hero John LeClair (never sent), giving us a snapshot into Emmitt’s life at different ages. Actually, all of the characters were realistic, and Parkhurst did particularly well letting innocence shine through her younger ones.

Dusty and Emmitt’s relationship was life. They were so sweet together, really caring for each other right from the start. (Because this is sort of a sequel, their relationship is already established at the start of the book.) That being said, Emmitt had a very real concern about making the relationship public, coming out of the closet that’s more firmly closed for kids in sports. This struggle between enjoying and celebrating his relationship with Dusty and still being the town’s golden boy hockey star was the central issue in the book. While it hurt to read at times, I appreciate that Parkhurst didn’t make this too dark, as similar books have done. I know not everything can be sunshine and rainbows, but this one definitely falls in the sweeter, more hopeful group, and it was just what I needed to read. I’ll save the emotionally intensive stuff for when I’m not so busy!

One of the things that really hit me was the situation with Emmitt and Casey and their father. I know it wasn’t the main focus of the story, but it was relevant to my own experiences the past few years. You have no idea how well I could relate to it, how I could completely feel the anger Casey felt. Trust me, being in your 20s when your parents split does not make it any easier, especially when your dad suddenly seems to have another kid (already grown at the point).

Overall, a really sweet story (not like the dirty sports romances I usually read…) that tackles the issue of LGBT+ in sports! It left me feeling hopeful and happy, but also more educated about the real movement happening thanks to the You Can Play Project.

3 responses to “#BookReview: THANKS A LOT, JOHN LECLAIR by Johanna Parkhurst”

Aaaah this sounds really good! I tend to like LGBT books that have a more positive, hopeful tone to it as well, so I think I’ll like this very much! I’ll add it and the first book to my TBR list asap since I’m looking for more diverse books to read. 🙂

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